Tacoma power company employee protects woman and children from strange acting manFebruary 06, 2018

Chronicle Staff

(TACOMA, WA.) – The Pierce County Sheriff’s office released on Monday a tale about a brave Tacoma based power company employee who used himself as a shield to protect a woman and her children from an erratic acting man who may have been high on drugs.

The sheriff’s office said it received several inquiries from the public about law enforcement activity that took place last Wednesday morning January 31st on 176th Street East in the Frederickson area.

Thus developed the “story about the bravery of a complete stranger to protect a woman and children who were threatened by an intruder.”

Here’s what happened:

From 8:11 a.m. to 8:13 a.m. on the morning of January 31st four different people called 911 to report that a man was walking in the middle of the road on 176th St. E. near 70th Ave. E. he was reported to be blocking traffic, waving his arms around, talking to himself and banging on vehicle windows as they attempted to drive around him.

The callers told dispatchers that the man was wearing a tank top (despite the 39 degree weather) and appeared to be high on drugs.

As deputies were enroute to the location, another 911 call came in from a power company employee who was repairing a meter at a residence three blocks from where the suspicious man was seen blocking traffic.

The power company employee said the man approached him and was "talking nonsense" and was told to leave; the suspect then ran away and entered the open door of garage of a home across the street.

The power company employee followed after the man and saw that at the same time he ran into the garage, a woman who lived in the home was walking out of her house and into her garage; the woman's children were behind her as they were preparing to drive to school.

The power company employee heard the woman scream and saw her retreat inside her home with her children.

As she called 911 the power company employee put himself between the man and the door into the woman's house, blocking the man from getting near the woman and her children.

The erratic acting man then entered the woman's vehicle that was parked in the garage. He looked around inside the car, exited the car and tried to get to the house door again but was blocked by the power company employee once again.

As sheriff’s deputies approached the house the suspect ran and jumped back into the woman's vehicle.

The sheriff's office statement then says:

“The deputies shouted at the suspect to exit the vehicle, but he refused and began digging around inside the center console (possibly looking for keys to the vehicle). Two deputies reached into the driver's side of the vehicle and attempted to pull the suspect out of the vehicle; the suspect grabbed onto the steering wheel and pulled back from them; a third deputy entered the passenger side of the vehicle and tazed the suspect.

The deputies were then able to remove the suspect from the vehicle and place him into handcuffs.

The suspect was initially uncooperative and would not provide his name or date of birth, and spoke rapidly over and over about "this is where time starts".

The suspect was placed into a patrol car, where he began repeatedly head butting the interior of the car. The suspect was eventually identified as a 26 year old male and he was booked into the Pierce County Jail for Burglary in the 1st degree, Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Obstructing Law Enforcement and Disorderly Conduct.

The power company employee showed incredible bravery when he chased after the suspect and repeatedly blocked him from trying to enter the victim's home; his actions likely prevented this situation from escalating from a very scary situation into a very dangerous situation for the victim and her children.